Filtering canister with deployable hood and mouthpiece

Abstract

The breathing system comprises a canister carrying layered filtering material, including activated carbon granules, a desiccant, a catalyst for the catalyzation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, and electrostatically charged filters between the layers of filtering material. A mouthpiece carrying a noseclip, and inhalation and exhalation check valves and a whistle is disposed within a flexible, substantially completely transparent hear-through hood, both the mouthpiece and hood being disposed in the canister between the filtering material and a cover for the canister. In use, the cover is removed, air inlet apertures are uncovered, and the hood is drawn about an individual's head and substantially sealed about the neck. With the mouthpiece in the individual's mouth, and noseclip closing off the user's nose, inhalation causes air to flow through the filtering material and the inhalation check valve and past the exhalation check valves. When exhaling, the exhalation check valves open to permit exhaled air to flow into the hood. The inhalation valve closes during exhalation to prevent backflow of air through the filtering material. By exhaling into the hood, a slight positive pressure within the hood is established to prevent noxious gases, smoke particles and the like from entering the hood through the neck opening.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A personal emergency breathing system comprising: a canister having a body with an opening and a cover releasably secured to said canister body for closing said opening;   an air filtration unit disposed within the body of said canister for filtering ambient air and having an air inlet for receiving ambient air and an air outlet, the ambient air passing through said air inlet into said filtration unit where it is filtered an passed through said air outlet;   a mouthpiece carried by said canister body for receiving filtered air from the outlet of said filtration unit;   a hood carried by said canister body and enveloping said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and said hood being disposed in a collapsed condition in said canister adjacent said opening and between said cover and said filtration unit whereby, upon removable of said cover, said hood and mouthpiece are deployable from said canister body to a location external to said canister body, said hood having an opening for receiving an individual's head and neck;   means for connecting said hood and said mouthpiece to said canister body in said collapsed condition and when deployed, said connecting means, when said hood and said mouthpiece are deployed, enabling flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet to said mouthpiece and preventing flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet into said hood; and   first and second one-way valves disposed between said mouthpiece and said filtration unit, said first valve enabling flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet into said mouthpiece and preventing backflow of exhaled air into said filtration unit, said second valve enabling air exhaled into said mouthpiece for flow into said hood and preventing backflow of air from said hood through said second valve to said mouthpiece.   
     
     
       2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said filtration unit includes filtering material comprising activated charcoal. 
     
     
       3. A system according to claim 1 wherein said filtration unit includes filtering material comprising activated charcoal, a dessicant and a catalyst for the catalyzation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. 
     
     
       4. A system according to claim 3 wherein said filtering material includes a material for converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. 
     
     
       5. A system according to claim 1 wherein said filtration unit includes filtering material comprising layered activated charcoal, a dessicant and a catalyst for the catalyzation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. 
     
     
       6. A system according to claim 1 wherein said canister is elongated and said cover lies at one end thereof, said canister having an inlet comprising at least one aperture at the end of said canister opposite said covered end for receiving ambient air and in communication with said filtration unit air inlet, said filtration unit having filtering material, and means for releasably sealing said one aperture to prevent ingress of air into said filtration unit and through the filtering material, said filtering material being comprised of activated charcoal and at least one electrostatically charged filter. 
     
     
       7. A system according to claim 1 wherein substantially the entirety of said hood is formed of transparent material. 
     
     
       8. A system according to claim 1 wherein said filtration unit includes layered activated charcoal, a dessicant, a catalyst for the catalyzation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide and lithium peroxide to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen. 
     
     
       9. A system according to claim 1 including a whistle for receiving exhaled air whereby the whistle may be sounded to facilitate locating an individual using the emergency breathing system. 
     
     
       10. A system according to claim 1 including a noseclip attached to said mouthpiece for application to a user's nose. 
     
     
       11. A system according to claim 1 wherein said hood is formed of a thin-walled plastic material enabling the transmission of the user's voice to pass through the hood to be heard externally thereof. 
     
     
       12. A system according to claim 1 wherein said mouthpiece is formed of a flexible resilient material, said connecting means including a plenum having a collar, and sealing means including a sealing ring about said collar and hood portion. 
     
     
       13. A system according to claim 1 wherein said hood is formed of a thin-walled plastic material enabling the transmission of sound and signals to and from the user with minimal resistance. 
     
     
       14. A system according to claim 1 wherein said canister is elongated and said cover lies at one end thereof, said canister having at least one aperture at the end of said canister opposite said covered end for communicating air into the filtration unit air inlet, and means for releasably sealing said one aperture to prevent ingress of air through said aperture and into the filtration unit. 
     
     
       15. A system according to claim 1 wherein said filtration unit includes filter material comprised of activated charcoal and at least one electrostatically charged filter. 
     
     
       16. A system according to claim 1 including means for substantially closing said hood opening about the individual's neck whereby the hood completely envelopes the individual's head, and the air exhaled by the individual through said second valve into said hood affords a positive pressure in said hood relative to ambient pressure, thus preventing ingress of non-filtered air into the hood through said hood opening. 
     
     
       17. A system according to claim 1 wherein said connecting means and said mouthpiece enable said canister body and said filtration unit to be supported from said mouthpiece upon placement of the mouthpiece in the individual's mouth. 
     
     
       18. A personal emergency breathing system comprising: a canister having a body with an opening and a cover releasably secured to said canister body for closing said opening;   an air filtration unit disposed within the body of said canister for filtering ambient air and having an air inlet for receiving ambient air and an air outlet, the ambient air passing through said air inlet into said filtration unit where it is filtered and passed through said air outlet;   a mouthpiece carried by said canister body for receiving filtered air from the outlet of said filtration unit;   a hood carried by said canister body and enveloping said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and said hood being disposed in said canister in a collapsed condition adjacent said opening and between said cover and said filtration unit whereby, upon removal of said cover, said hood and mouthpiece are deployable from said canister body to a location external to said canister body, said hood having an opening for receiving an individual's head and neck;   means for connecting said hood and said mouthpiece to said canister body in said collapsed condition and when deployed, said connecting means, when said hood and said mouthpiece are deployed, enabling flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet to said mouthpiece and preventing flow of filtered air through said filtration unit into said hood; and   first and second one-way valves disposed between said mouthpiece and said filtration unit, said first valve enabling flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet into said mouthpiece and preventing backflow of exhaled air into said filtration unit, said second valve enabling air exhaled into said mouthpiece for flow into said hood and preventing backflow of air from said hood through said second valve to said mouthpiece;   said canister body including a lower portion, and a portion intermediate said canister cover and said lower portion, said filtration unit being disposed in said lower body portion, said connecting means connecting said hood and said mouthpiece to said intermediate portion and means for securing said lower portion of said canister body and said intermediate portion one to the other.   
     
     
       19. A system according to claim 18 including means for substantially closing said opening about the individual's neck whereby the hood completely envelopes the individual's head and the air exhaled by the individual through said second valve into said hood affords a positive pressure in said hood relative to ambient pressure, thus preventing ingress of non-filtered air into the hood through said hood opening. 
     
     
       20. A system according to claim 19 wherein said closing means for said hood includes an elastic band about said opening. 
     
     
       21. A system according to claim 19 wherein said closing means for said hood includes a draw band about said opening. 
     
     
       22. A system according to claim 18 wherein said filtration unit includes activated charcoal. 
     
     
       23. A system according to claim 18 wherein said filtration unit includes activated charcoal, a dessicant and a catalyst for the catalyzation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. 
     
     
       24. A system according to claim 18 wherein said filtration unit includes layered activated charcoal, a dessicant and a catalyst for the catalyzation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide. 
     
     
       25. A system according to claim 24 including electrostatically charged filters disposed between adjacent layers of filtering material for collecting particulate matter. 
     
     
       26. A system according to claim 18 including means for substantially closing said opening about the individual's neck whereby the hood completely envelops the individual's head and the air exhaled by the individual through said second valve into said hood affords a positive pressure in said hood relative to ambient pressure, thus preventing ingress of non-filtered air into the hood through said hood opening, said filtration unit including activated charcoal granules and at least one electrostatically charged fabric filter. 
     
     
       27. A system according to claim 26 wherein said closing means for said hood includes an elastic band about said opening. 
     
     
       28. A system according to claim 26 wherein said closing means for said hood includes a draw band about said opening. 
     
     
       29. A system according to claim 18 wherein said hood is formed of a thin-walled plastic material enabling the transmission of the user's voice to pass through the hood to be heard externally thereof. 
     
     
       30. A system according to claim 18 including a whistle for receiving exhaled air whereby the whistle may be sounded to facilitate locating an individual using the emergency breathing system. 
     
     
       31. A system according to claim 18 wherein said hood is formed of a thin-walled plastic material enabling the transmission of sound and signals to and from the user with minimal resistance. 
     
     
       32. A system according to claim 18 wherein said filtration unit includes layered activated charcoal, a dessicant, a catalyst for the catalyzation of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, and electrostatically charged filters disposed between layers for collecting particulate matter. 
     
     
       33. A personal emergency breathing system comprising: a canister having a body with an opening and a cover releasably secured to said canister body for closing said opening;   an air filtration unit disposed within the body of said canister for filtering ambient air and having an air inlet for receiving ambient air and an air outlet, the ambient air passing through said air inlet into said filtration unit where it is filtered and passed through said air outlet;   a mouthpiece carried by said canister body for receiving filtered air from the outlet of said filtration unit;   a hood carried by said canister body and enveloping said mouthpiece, said mouthpiece and said hood being disposed in a collapsed condition in said canister adjacent said opening and between said cover and said filtration unit whereby, upon removable of said cover, said hood and mouthpiece are deployable from said canister body to a location external to said canister body, said hood having an opening for receiving an individual's head and neck;   means for connecting said hood and said mouthpiece to said canister body in said collapsed condition and when deployed;   means establishing an air flow path from said air outlet to said mouthpiece when said hood and said mouthpiece are deployed from said canister body for enabling flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet to said mouthpiece and preventing flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet into said hood;   a one-way valve disposed in said air flow path means enabling flow of filtered air from said filtration unit air outlet into said mouthpiece and preventing backflow of exhaled air into said filtration unit; and   said canister body including a lower portion, and a portion intermediate said canister cover and said lower portion, said filtration unit being disposed in said lower body portion, said connecting means connecting said hood and said mouthpiece to said intermediate portion and means for securing said lower portion of said canister body and said intermediate portion one to the other.   
     
     
       34. A personal emergency breathing system according to claim 33 including a second valve in communication with said mouthpiece enabling air exhaled into said mouthpiece for flow into said hood and preventing backflow of air from said hood through said second valve to said mouthpiece. 
     
     
       35. A system according to claim 34 including means for substantially closing said hood opening about the individual's neck whereby the hood completely envelops the individual's head and the air exhaled by the individual through said second valve into said hood affords a positive pressure in said hood relative to ambient pressure, thus preventing ingress of non-filtered air into the hood through said hood opening. 
     
     
       36. A system according to claim 33 wherein said canister is elongated and said cover lies at one end thereof, said canister having at least one aperture at the end of said canister opposite said covered end for communication air into the filtration unit air inlet, and means for releasably sealing said one aperture to prevent ingress of air through said aperture and into the filtration unit.